Hood latch



May 16, 1950 F. E. BEEMS ETAL 2,508,090

HOOD LATCH Filed Jan. 17, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T P f I a! a I I! 43 37Pl 2/ I z u v U E]..

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F. E. seams w. aussza 1w. STEPHENSON INVENTORS.

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ATTORNEYS.

" Patented May 16.1950

2,503,090 I noon ui'rcn Floyd E. Beems, Dearborn, Charles W. Bugbee,

Royal Oak, and Thomas W. Stephenson, Detroit, Mich., assignors to FordMotor Company,

' Dearborn, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 1'1,1947, Serial No. 722,490

1 Claim. 1 This invention relates generally to motor vehicles andparticularly to latching and locking mechanism for the hoods of motorvehicles.

The engine compartments of present-day automobiles are provided withrearwardly hinged hoods which are equipped with suitable latching andlocking mechanism at the forward ends thereof to lock the hood in closedposition. The latch is released by means of a control knob on the dashconnected to the latch through a Bowden cable. One of the principaldisadvantages of the conventional construction has been the amount ofeffort necessary to release the latch. With the parts of the latch heldtightly together by spring pressure, the force required to release thelatch ,has been so great that in some instances it has been necessary toprovide a special handhoie upon the operating knob to enable it to bemore firmly grasped by the driver. Frictional resistance of themechanism also contributes to the stiffness of operation. It isaccordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide ahood latch which may be released from the dash with a minimum of eflortand yet which is positive in operation and which cannot becomeinadvertently disengaged. In fact, the only force necessary to releasethe-latch is that required to move a pawl out of engagement with aratchet member against a relatively moderate spring pressure. Ease ofoperation is also increased by the fact that the latch is so arrangedthat a, direct pull of the pawl by the Bowden cable is possible.Furthermore, the friction to be overcome is negligible, and only aslight movement of the pawl is required.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hood latch which isself-centering in operation to automatically center the hoodtransversely of the vehicle when the hood is closed. Another object isto provide an automatic adjustment which compensates for manufacturingvariations and which eliminates the final adjustment of the strikerpreviously required during assembly of the vehicle. In addition, thehood latch of the present invention requires a minimum of easilyfabricated parts, thus reducing the cost thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made more apparentas this description proceeds, particularly when considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile,

partly broken away, and incorporating the hood latch of the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional-view taken substan- 2 ti'ally on the planeindicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1, illustrating the hood latch infront elevation and in its locked position.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken substantially onthe plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view taken substantially on theplane indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 3;-but illustrating the latchmechanism in released position.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially onthe plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2, illustrating the pawlmechanism.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings-the reference characterI I indicates an automobile having a hood l2 covering the enginecompartment and hinged at its rearward edge by hinges ii to the cowl llof the vehicle body. The hood is adapted to be opened by lifting theforward edge thereof and swinging the hood upwardly.

At its forward end, the hood I2 is provided with a channel shaped crossbrace I 6 extending between opposite sides of the hood and suitablywelded or riveted thereto. Directly below the cross brace it of the hoodin its closed position is a crossbar i'l forming a front structuralmember of the vehicle body and extending transversely between the frontfenders thereof. The hood brace It carries a'pair of transversely spacedrubber stops l8 engageable with flats l9 formed on the crossbar H atopposite sides; These stops limit downward movement of the hood andprovide a resilient support therefor.

A U-bolt or striker 2i is mounted upon the hood brace I! in alignmentwith the longitudinal center line of the hood. The legs of the U-boltextend through apertures 22 in the brace and are secured thereto by nuts23. Ears 24 are struck outwardly from the lower portions of the legs ofthe U-bolt and provide stops for a plate 26 which is slidably mountedupon the bolt. A pair of coil springs 21 are mounted upon the legs ofthe U-bolt between the nuts 23 and the plate 28 and serve to normallyurge the plate downwardly into engagement with the ears 24.

The crossbar ll of the body is provided with an elongated opening 28extending longitudinally of the vehicle directly beneath the U-bolt 2|carried by the hood and is of such size as to permit the U-bolt to passtherethrough as the hood is lowered. A bracket 29 is provided forsupporting the latching mechanism beneath-the crossbar I1, and isarranged generally transversely of the veasoaoeo hicle. The bracketcomprises a web I! at one side formed integrally with front and rearflanges l2 and a respectively, which flanges are formed with verticalslots ll forming clearance for the U-bolt 2i. Bent forwardly andrearwardly respectively from the upper edges of the front and rearflanges 32 and l! and extending generally horizontally are attachingflanges it and 31. These flanges are secured to the crossbar H by meansof bolts 38 and nuts a. longitudinally extending slots 42 are formed inthe attaching flanges I8 and 31 in alignment with the slots in the frontand rear flanges of the bracket to provide clearance for the U-bolt. Itwill be noted that the slots are substantially in alignment with theelongated opening 28 formed in the crossbar, but that the opening in thecrossbar is slightly larger to expose portions of the attaching flanges3i and 31 through the opening. The spring urged plate 28 carried by theU-bolt thus seats upon the expoud edges of the attaching flanges 3i and31, and in the closed osition of the hood is moved upwardly from thecars 24 formed upon the U-bolt to compress the coil springs 21. Theshock of lowering the hood to its closed position is thus cushioned.

A pivot pin 43 extends between the front and rear flanges if and 33 of.the bracket 28 and pivotally supports a ratchet member M. The

ratchet member 44 is formed of two complementary halves 4t and 41spot-welded together to form a unit. Each half of the ratchet member isprovided with an outwardly extending boss 48 and the distance betweenthe bosses ll of the two halves corresponds generally to the distancebetween the front and rear flanges of the bracket so as to providebearing surfaces therebetween to guide the ratchet member for rotationin a transverse plane. A plurality of teeth 49 are formed along one edgeof the ratchet member, and the latter is also formed with a locking slotIi for receiving the lower portion of the U-bolt 2|. In the closedposition of the hood the ratchet member takes the position shown inFigure 2 in which the locking slot BI is substantially horizontal andeffectively prevents upward movement of the U-bolt. 0n the other hand,in its released position the ratchet member 44 is swung upwardly to theposition shown in Figure 4 in which the locking slot BI is inclinedupwardly and permits upward movement of ti 2 U-bolt and the hood. Atorsion spring 52 encircles the pivot pin 43 and has extending endportions 53 and 54. The spring end 53 is seated in a notch 56 formed inthe lower edge of the web ll of the bracket, while the spring end itextends through an aperture formed in one of the bosses 48 of theratchet member. Torsion spring 52 is thus arranged to normally urge theratchet member upwardly to its open or released position.

A second pivot pin 51 is mounted in the side portions of the front andrear flanges l2 and 33 of the bracket and supports a pawl 58. The pawlll comprises a, one-piece stamping having side flanges It and 6|, alower connecting web 62 and an actuating flange 63. The actuating flange63 is apertured to receive one end of a Bowden cable 84 which extendsthrough the engine compartment to the dash of the vehicle, and isconnected to a suitable control knob (not shown) for actuation by theoperator. It will be noted that with the latching mechanism arrangedthen swings inwardly toward the center line of 76 the vehicle at thefront of the hood, exerts a direct pull upon the actuating flange ll ofthe pawl. A torsion spring ll encircles the pivot pin I! of the pawl andhas end portions 8! and It seated respectively upon the front flange llof the bracket and upon the side flange ti of the pawl to normally swingthe pawl in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figures 2 and 4 and tomove the web '2 into locking engagement with the teeth 40 formed uponthe ratchet member 4. A pull upon the Bowden cable, of course, swingsthe pawl ll against the action of the torsion spring II to release theweb from engagement with the teeth.

The operation of the device is now'apparent. Actuation of the dashcontrol knob to pull the Bowden cable 84 swings the pawl it out ofengagement with the teeth 4! upon the rachet member N and the coilsprings 21 upon the U-bolt together with the torsion spring [2 upon theratchet member,.move the hood I! upwardly, the ratchet member moving tothe position shown in Figure 4. Inthis position the locking slot II inthe ratchet member extends generally upwardly and the U-bolt is freefrom locking engagement therewith. To open the hood, it is then onlynecessary to release the usual safety lock ll conventionally provided atthe forward edge of the hood and adapted to be manually operated at thatpoint, after which the hood can be swung upward to open position. Itwill be noted that the torsion spring 6 automatically swings the pawl IIto the position shown in Figure 4, ready for the closing of the hood.

Closing the hood automatically operates the latching mechanism to lockthe hood in its lowermost position. As the hood is lowered the uboltstrikes theratchet member 44 and swings the latter in a clockwisedirection from the position shown in Figure 4 to that shown in Figure 2.Simultaneously, the pawl ll indexed over the teeth 40 upon the ratchetmember and seats in locking engagement with one of the teeth. By

.providing a plurality of teeth, it will be noted that regardless ofmanufacturing variations the hood will automatically lockin itslowermost position. This eliminates the assembly operation usuallyrequired with conventional type hood latches which required the verticaladjustment of the striker member to suit each individual job. This isnot necessary with the present construction, although if desired for anyreason, the U- bolt II can be adjusted vertically relative to the resultbeing that the effort required by the driver to release the latch isnegligible. The construction, however, does not sacrifice safety sincethe latch mechanism provides a positive lock which cannot becomeinadvertently released except by operation of the dash control knob.

A further advantage of the present construction resides in the fact thatthe U-bolt 2 i carried by the hoodtends to center itself with respect tothe ratchet member 44 and thus centers the hood transversely withrespect to the vehicle.

It will be understood that the invention is not the hood having anopening for the striker mem- 1 ber to pass through, a latch membercomprising a U-shaped bracket having front and rear walls positionedbeneath said body member and extending generally transversely of thevehicle in a vertical plane, an opening formed in said bracket alignedwith the opening in said body member, a latch member pivotally disposedbetween said front and rear walls for swinging movement in a verticalplane and comprising a pair of complementary stampings secured togetherand having embossed portions engageable with the front and rear walls ofsaid bracket to guide the swinging movement of said latch member, theremaining portions of said latch member being in juxtaposition one withthe other, a series of teeth formed along one edge of saidlast-mentioned portions, a

U-shaped pawl member having an open and a cl end, said open end beingpivotally mounted be een the front and rear walls of said bracket forswinging movement of said pawl member in a substantially verticaltransverse plane, said closed end adapted to engage the teeth upon saidlatch member, an ear formed on said pawl member, a

Bowden wire secured to said ear, and means within said vehicle foroperating said Bowden wire to pivotally release said pawl from the teethon said latch member.

FLOYD E. BEEMS.

CHARLES W. BUGBEE.

THOMAS W. STEPHENSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,544,960 Watts July 7, 19252,223,620 Kiesewetter Dec. 3, 1940 2,243,803 Hill May 27, 1941 252,446,934 Krause Aug. 10, 1948

